2008 UAA Cross Country Championship Results

The New York University men's cross country team won its third consecutive University Athletic Association Championship, besting an eight-team field over 8,000 meters on Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, GA.  

Ranked #10 in the latest USTFCCCA (United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) National Poll, NYU finished with a combined point total of 35, 17 less than second-place Carnegie Mellon University.

Host Emory University took third with 78 points.

NYU, the defending NCAA Division III National Champions, was led by senior All-American Jesse Schneider, who out-ran the 78-man field with a time of 25:34.99.  Schneider, who won the Inter-Regional Rumble at Oberlin College in his previous race on Oct. 18, finished ahead of Carnegie Mellon's Brian Harvey, who posted a time of 25:36.46.

"Jesse took the lead at about 3-1/2 miles and kept control the rest of the way," said NYU head coach Nick McDonough.  "He never looked back."

Two other NYU runners finished in the top-five, as junior Zach Maher (25:50.86) and sophomore Matt Turlip (25:51.97), grabbed fourth and fifth place, respectively.

"Zach and Matt moved up together the whole second half," McDonough explained.  "They went up about eight places." 

While both the NYU and Carnegie Mellon squads featured three runners among the top-10, the Violets sealed the victory by placing three more runners within the top-15, while the Tartans' next runner finished 16th.  Thus, it was the performances of Violet sophomore Sebastian Schwelm (12th place, 26:10.21), junior Calvin Lee (13th place, 26:14.45), and senior Mark Hess (14th place, 26:17.77) that put NYU back at the top of the UAA pack.

"Our pack running together was the difference in the race," McDonough revealed.  "Our first six all ran well."

The Violets now gear up to defend their NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship title.  That race will be held at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, on Saturday, Nov. 15.